38. The way podcast fans engage with your message is key with Blair Hughes

Australian Blair Hughes has performed several aspects of the fan experience model, both in sports and in music. Blair Hughes is a creative and ambitious fan engagement podcast, communications and event management. He has many years of experience visualizing, developing and facilitating major events, and communications projects.

He has high success rate of delivering exceptional outcomes for clients in both local and international markets across the music, education and sports industries. He’s a leader, podcast networker and life-long learner skilled in digital media, marketing and public relations.

Blair currently manages the operations for audio Boom podcasts in Australia and New Zealand. He has created partnerships with major radio, media, podcasters and sporting teams including Macquarie Media, SEN, RSN, the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Australian Open, and many more.

In this episode we talk about:

Blair Hughes’ background as a teacher and his current career as head of operations at audio Boom

His interest in trying to understand fan psychology and coming up with ways to engage and inspire his students when he was a teacher

Audio Boom and the power of fan engagement

The history of podcasting

How everyone wants to get involved in podcasting

How podcasting has been doing amazing things for a long time now

How podcasting is becoming viral and can influence anyone to start their own podcast

The easy access of listening to podcasts through the power of mobile phones and high-speed Wi-Fi

The power of the audio platform and why audio Boom are passionate about it

The audio-on-demand app which anyone can use to record, upload, share and monetise their audio, and can use as a personalised radio station

Fan engagement

How Blair has worked in lots of teams from sporting to music environments, trying to find ways to make fans buy everything he has

The importance of sound quality and technology when having a podcast

Listening skills, being enthusiastic, telling stories and being interactive at the same time as doing fan engagement

The idea of access for someone considering doing a podcast

The importance of the two-way conversation

The idea of trying to find ways of bringing added value to your listeners and looking after your fans, followers and members by listening to them

How fan engagement worked in the sports and music industries

The benefits of fan engagement ideas

How fan engagement is cost effective and spectacular regarding the extra little things

Emotional loyalty and the deeper connection with fans

Audio Boom’s podcast and how to embed and share it

How the audio Boom platform finds ways to help visually impaired customers so that they can listen to the contents

How they encourage everyone to start a podcast, record, share and monetise using their app

When someone is considering a podcast as a medium, how do they know if it’s for them?

“It’s about access. So, if you think of starting a podcast you have to think about ways that you can tap into your fans. Try to make them engage more and more with what you’re doing with your podcast. It’s got to be creative and innovative. You’ve got to be listening, it’s got to be enthusiastic, telling stories and interactive at the same time.

So, it’s finding these ways that you can really tap into what your fans want from your podcast show. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast ask yourself; “What it’s going to be about so that I can find ways that listeners are really going to be engaged with what I’m doing.”

What are the most important things to consider?

“I strongly believed that the future is easy and everyone’s able to have a podcast. Yes, the sound quality is a must. It doesn’t have to be perfect but the technology is there for everyone to be able to have a podcast. And monetisation would be the norm.”

“Trying to find ways to make fans and turn them into hard core fans so that they buy everything you have and they love what you do. The core of it for me is this idea of trying to find ways to bring added value and look after your fans, your followers and your members, and listen to them. I don’t think we do enough listening to people.”

“It has to be a two-way conversation. It’s about loyalty, it’s about being authentic and about being genuine at the same time.”

“Be crazy. It’s about being creative and thinking outside this square in terms of what you can do for your fans and how you can figure out ways to engage with them.”